Christopher C. Fennell

Department of Anthropology
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
109 Davenport Hall, MC-148
607 South Mathews Ave.
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Phone: (217) 333-3616
Cell: (312) 513-2683
Fax: (217) 244-3490
email: cfennell@illinois.edu
photo

dividing bar

EDUCATION

    University of Virginia: Ph.D. in Anthropology, 2003.
    Concentration in historical archaeology and African diaspora archaeology.
    M.A. in Anthropology, 2000.

    Georgetown University Law Center: J.D., 1989.
    Research Editor, American Criminal Law Review, Volume 26 (1988-1989); managed final review of all articles; chaired committee for selecting articles for publication.

    University of Pennsylvania: M.A. in American Civilization, 1986.
    Interdisciplinary program applying anthropological theories and methods to subjects in American history, with concentration in historical archaeology.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

    University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
    Professor of Anthropology and Law, 2018 to present.
    Associate Professor of Anthropology and Law, 2010 to 2018.
    Director of Graduate Studies and Associate Head of Anthropology, 2010 to 2013.
    Assistant Professor of Anthropology, 2004-2010.
    Designing and teaching courses in anthropology, archaeology, African diaspora studies, and law. Faculty affiliate of the College of Law, teaching interdisciplinary seminars in anthropology, law, social norms, and dynamics of racism; also faculty affiliate of the Department of Landscape Architecture, the Center for African Studies, Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory, the Lemann Institute for Brazilian Studies, the Department of African American Studies, and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

    University of Chicago Law School
    Visiting Professor of Law, 2010, 2013-present.
    Offering courses and seminars in anthropology, law, social norms, and intersections of racism, legal structures, and social sciences; classes in Winter and Spring quarters.

    Interdisciplinary Center University (IDC), Herzliya, Israel
    Visiting Associate Professor of Law, Dec. 2012.
    Designed and taught short course on law and anthropology.

    University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX
    Adjunct Professor of Law and Senior Research Fellow, 2003-2004.
    Designed and taught seminar in anthropology and law and course in social norms and law.

    Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
    Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Fall 2003.
    Designed and taught Introduction to Cultural Anthropology course, including elements of anthropology’s four sub-fields, history of humankind, and diversity of cultures.

    Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL
    Instructor, School of Policy Studies, Spring 2001.
    Designed and taught course on Cross-Cultural Anthropology, including analysis of diverse cultures and economic, environmental, class, gender, and ethnic dynamics.

    University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
    Instructor, Department of Anthropology, Summer 2000, Summer 1999.
    Designed and taught course on Witchcraft and Magic and an intensive, six-week Field School in Historical Archaeology theory and methods, including excavation, surveying, artifact and documentary analysis.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL, RESEARCH & TEACHING EXPERIENCE

    Society for Industrial Archaeology
    Member, Board of Directors, 2023-2026.
    The Society promotes "the study, appreciation, and preservation of the physical survivals of our industrial and technological past."

    Global Council for Anthropological Linguistics,
    School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
    Member, Scientific Committee, 2024.
    The Council promotes and coordinates annual conferences, publications, media, and research on linguistic anthropology across the globe.

    Register of Professional Archaeologists
    Chair, Nominating Committee, 2023.
    The Register "is a community of professional archaeologists. . . to establish and adhere to standards and ethics that represent and adapt to the dynamic field of archaeology and to provide a resource for entities who rely on professional archaeology services."

    Coalition for Archaeological Synthesis
    Member of Board of Directors, 2021-2023.
    Chair, Committee for Grant Award Selections, 2022.
    The Coalition seeks to advance the science of the past to shape a more secure and just future.

    Illinois Archaeological Survey
    President, 2018-2019.
    President-elect, 2016-2017.
    The Illinois Archaeological Survey is a society of professional archaeologists, and other technical professionals, dedicated to identifying and preserving important archaeological resources throughout the state of Illinois.

    Society for Historical Archaeology
    Nominee, Presidential Election, 2017.
    Member, Board of Directors, 2012-2015.
    Chair, Development Committee, 2015-present.
    Chair, Mark E. Mack Community Engagement Award Committee, 2015-present.
    Formed in 1967, the Society for Historical Archaeology is the largest scholarly group concerned with the archaeology of the modern world. My efforts have focused on the initiatives of the Technologies, Development, and Gender and Minority Affairs committees.

    University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
    Archaeology Project Co-Director, 2009-present.
    Archaeology of Edgefield, South Carolina Pottery Communities
    Co-director, collaborating with with George Calfas, Carl Steen, and Sean Taylor, conducting archaeological investigations and field schools at nineteenth century sites in Edgefield County, South Carolina, with support from the University of Illinois, Diachronic Research Foundation, Edgefield County Historical Society, Edgefield Inn, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, South Carolina Humanities Council, and National Endowment for the Humanities (project link).

    University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
    Collaborative for Cultural Heritage Management and Policy, 2009-present.
    Member of the Executive Committee of this strategic research center, which has the goal of facilitating critical studies of cultural heritage and museum practices on a global scale (link).

    Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL
    Research Associate in Anthropology, 2008-present.
    Conducting research on nineteenth century history in Illinois and Midwest region, including social history of New Philadelphia (link).

    University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
    Aerial Thermal Survey Research, 2007-2009.
    New Philadelphia Archaeology Project
    Principal Investigator and co-Principal Archaeologist, with Tommy Hailey (Northwestern State University) and Bryan Haley (U. Mississippi), conducting low-altitude high resolution thermal survey at nineteenth century town site of New Philadelphia, Illinois, under a grant award by the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (project link).

    University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
    Archaeology Project Co-Director, 2004-present.
    New Philadelphia Archaeology Project
    Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Archaeologist, collaborating with Anna Agbe-Davies (DePaul U. and U. North Carolina), Terrance Martin (Illinois State Museum), and Paul Shackel (U. Maryland), conducting archaeological investigations and field schools at nineteenth century town site of New Philadelphia, Illinois, and surrounding region, with support from the University of Illinois, Illinois State Museum, New Philadelphia Association, Archaeological Conservancy, Kinderhook Lodge, and the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program (project link).

    University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
    Archaeology Project Director, 1997-2003.
    Loudoun Valley Archaeology Project
    Conducted excavations, research, and analysis of eighteenth and nineteenth century archaeology sites at St. Peter’s Church and School House, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and Demory farmstead site, Loudoun County, Virginia, with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council, National Endowment for the Humanities, Virginia Historical Society, and Andrew Mellon Foundation (project link).

    Guest Lecturer, Universities of Virginia, Illinois, Notre Dame, UIPUI, and Tel Aviv.
    Presented guest lectures in courses on Witchcraft and Magic (U. Virginia, Spring, 1999), Historical Ethnography (U. Virginia, Spring 1999), Reconstructing the Plymouth Colony (U. Virginia, Fall 1998), North American Indians (U. Virginia, Summer 1998), American Material Culture (U. Virginia, Spring 1998), Introduction to Archaeology (U. Illinois, Fall, 2004), Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (Spring, 2005), Archaeology and the Public (Spring, 2005), Museum Studies Seminar (U. Illinois, Spring, 2005), Archaeology of Illinois (U. Illinois, Spring 2006, 2008), Fundamentals of Archaeology (Notre Dame U., Spring 2012), Historical Archaeology (UIPUI, Fall 2012, 2015), Critical Archaeology (Tel Aviv U., Fall 2012).

EDITORIAL AND REFEREE EXPERIENCE

    Restorative Justice in Heritage Studies and Archaeology Book Series, Routledge Press.
    Founding Series Editor, with Nedra K. Lee and Richard Paul Benjamin. 2022-present.
    This peer review series will feature works that promote the active and often unconventional ways that archaeologists, historians, and heritage scholars are contributing to a process of remaking. Our authors work to define and illuminate the best practices for restorative justice in these fields and to identify how practitioners and their collaborators are working to redress, reconcile, and remake contemporary society (link).

    Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage
    Founding Editor, 2011-present.
    Editor, 2011-2019, 2024-present.
    Associate Editor, 2019-2024.
    Editor of the Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage, a peer reviewed journal published by Taylor & Francis Press. This Journal provides a focal point for peer-reviewed publications in interdisciplinary studies in archaeology, history, material culture, and heritage dynamics concerning African descendant populations and cultures across the globe (link).

    International Journal of Historical Archaeology
    Editorial Board Member, 2005-present.
    Member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Historical Archaeology, a peer reviewed journal published by Plenum/Springer. This Journal provides current theoretical, methodological, and site-specific research, exploring a wide-range of topics on the post-1492 period and global connections between sites, regions, and continents (link).

    Slavery: Past and Present Book Series, Cambria Press
    Editorial Board Member, 2012-present.
    This peer reviewed series will feature high-quality, innovative, and peer-reviewed monographs and edited books that examine the history of slavery and how its memories and legacies remain alive in various regions of the globe (link).

    African Diaspora Archaeology Network and Newsletter
    Publisher and Editor, 2005-present.
    Publisher, editor (2005-2011) and co-founder of the African Diaspora Archaeology Network and Newsletter, providing a focal point for archaeological studies of African diasporas, with analysis papers, news, and current research related to the archaeology and history of descendants of African peoples (link).

    Grant and Nomination Proposal Referee, 2007-present.
    Providing peer review for: University of Illinois Research Board grants program; National Science Foundation's Doctoral Dissertation Improvement grant program; Fulbright Interview and Evaluation Committee to judge graduate and professional student applications for Fulbright awards; Icelandic Research Fund program, Icelandic Centre for Research; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal; Israel Science Foundation; and National Park Service.

    Article and Book Manuscript Referee, 2004-present.
    Providing peer review for publication selection of article and book manuscripts submitted to the American Anthropologist journal, International Journal of Historical Archaeology, Historical Archaeology journal, Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology & Heritage, Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, Northeast Historical Archaeology journal, University Press of Florida, University of Illinois Press, Rowman and Littlefield Press, and MIT Press.

    Plymouth Colony Archive Project
    Editor, 1998-present.
    Editor, and co-founder in 1998 with James Deetz and Patricia Scott Deetz, of the Plymouth Colony Archive Project, an internet publication of ethnohistorical and archaeological analyses and historical texts; recognized by the National Endowment for the Humanities as "peer reviewed for outstanding intellectual quality, superior design, and educational impact" (link).

COURSES OFFERED

PUBLICATIONS

    Grappling with Monuments of Oppression: Moving from Analysis to Activism, edited by C. Fennell, a book with 12 chapters in the peer-reviewed "Restorative Justice in Heritage Studies and Archaeology" series. London: Routledge Press (2024) (link).

    "Introduction: Remaking Monuments and Memories," chapter in Grappling with Monuments of Oppression: Moving from Analysis to Activism, edited by C. Fennell, a book in the peer-reviewed "Restorative Justice in Heritage Studies and Archaeology" series. London: Routledge Press (2024) (    link).

    Combating Oppression with New Commemorations, edited by C. Fennell, a book with 14 chapters in peer-reviewed "Restorative Justice in Heritage Studies and Archaeology" series. London: Routledge Press (under contract, in preparation).

    "Introduction: Commemorative Engagements," chapter in Combating Oppression with New Commemorations, edited by C. Fennell, in peer-reviewed "Restorative Justice in Heritage Studies and Archaeology" series. London: Routledge Press (under contract, in preparation).

    "Archaeology of the African Diaspora," chapter for the peer-reviewed Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Anthropology, edited by Mark Aldenderfer. New York: Oxford University Press (in press).

    "Responsive Symbolism and Susceptive Terrains in African-American Communities," chapter for the peer-reviewed Revealing Communities: The Archaeology of Free African Americans in the Nineteenth Century, edited by Meredith Linn, Bard Graduate Center. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (in press, 2025).

    "African Diaspora Heritage in the Americas," chapter 12 in the peer-reviewed Routledge Handbook of Critical African Heritage Studies, edited by Ashton Sinamai, John Giblin, Shadreck Chirikure, and Ishanlosen Odiaua, pp. 160-173. London: Routledge (2024) (    link).

    "John L. Cotter Award in Historical Archaeology: Alicia D. Odewale" (with Ayana Omilade Flewellen, Maria Franklin, and Terrance M. Weik). Historical Archaeology 58(1): 6–9 (2024) (link).

    The Archaeology of Craft and Industry, in University Press of Florida's "American Experience in Archaeological Perspective" book series (2021) (abstract, contents, and source list).

    “Pulpits and Stones: African-American Terrains of Action and Memory,” peer-reviewed article in thematic collection entitled "Religious Communities, Religious Landscapes," edited by John Chenoweth, Historical Archaeology 55(4): 550-564 (2021) (link).

    "John L. Cotter Award in Historical Archaeology: Lydia Wilson Marshall" (with Theresa A. Singleton), Historical Archaeology 52(2): 234-236 (2018) (link).

    "Editor's Introduction," article in "The Stoneware Pottery Communities and Heritage of Edgefield, South Carolina," part 2 of a thematic collection of articles edited by C. Fennell, Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage 6(3): 171-173 (2017) (link).

    "Architecture and Landscape Art" (with Shawn Fields and Rebecca Schumann), in Routledge History of the American South, edited by Maggi M. Morehouse, chap. 12, pp. 164-176, Routledge, New York (2017) (link) .

    "Reflections on Dynamic African American Cultures and Communities in the Upper Mid-Atlantic, 1610s to 1950s," chapter in Archaeologies of African American Life in the Upper Mid-Atlantic, peer reviewed book edited by Michael J. Gall and Richard F. Veit, pp. 185-197, University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa (2017) (link).

    "Innovation, Industry, and African-American Heritage in Edgefield, South Carolina," article in "The Stoneware Pottery Communities and Heritage of Edgefield, South Carolina," part 1 of a thematic collection of articles edited by C. Fennell, Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage 6(2): 55-77 (2017) (link).

    "The Stoneware Pottery Communities and Heritage of Edgefield, South Carolina," editor of thematic collection of nine articles, Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage Vol.6, Nos. 2 and 3 (2017).

    "Introduction: Navigating Intersections in African Diaspora Archaeology," article in thematic issue entitled "Challenging Theories of Racism, Diaspora, and Agency in African America," edited by William A. White III and Christopher C. Fennell, Historical Archaeology 51(1): 1-8 (2017) (link).

    "Challenging Theories of Racism, Diaspora, and Agency in African America," thematic issue edited by William A. White III and Christopher C. Fennell, Historical Archaeology 51(1): 1-148 (2017).

    Broken Chains and Subverted Plans: Ethnicity, Race, and Commodities, peer reviewed book published by University Press of Florida (2017). "Time and again those targeted for expropriation have foiled the large-scale plans of social elites. Grand plans are oft subverted" (abstract, contents, reviews).

    "Manufacturing Relationships in Industry, Craft, and Heritage," introduction chapter in Perspectives from Historical Archaeology: Investigations of Craft and Industrial Enterprise, textbook compiled and edited by Christopher Fennell, pp. 9-30, Society for Historical Archaeology, Germantown, MD (2016) (pdf of chapter titles and abstracts).

    "Cultural Creativity, Rebellions, and Comparative Questions for Afro-Brazilian Archaeology," invited chapter in Current Perspectives on the Archaeology of African Slavery in Latin America, edited by Pedro Paulo A. Funari and Charles E. Orser, Jr., 99-116, peer reviewed publication of Springer Press, New York (2015).

    "Fighting Despair: Challenges of a Comparative, Global Framework for Slavery Studies," invited chapter in The Archaeology of Slavery: A Comparative Approach to Captivity and Coercion, edited by Lydia Wilson Marshall, pp. 391-399, peer reviewed publication of Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, Illinois (2014).

    "Artifacts to Invoke, Direct, and Deflect," peer reviewed article in thematic issue entitled "Manifestations of Magic: The Archaeology and Material Culture of Folk Religion," edited by Christopher Fennell and M. Chris Manning, in Historical Archaeology 48(3): 196-200 (2014).

    "Manifestations of Magic: The Archaeology and Material Culture of Folk Religion," editor (with M. Chris Manning) of thematic issue of eleven peer reviewed articles in Historical Archaeology 48(3): 1-200 (2014) (overview pdf). This collection of articles is dedicated to the career of Ralph Merrifield.

    "Dexterous Creation: Material Manifestations of Instrumental Symbolism in the Americas," an invited chapter in Materialities of Ritual in the Black Atlantic, edited by Akinwumi Ogundiran and Paula Saunders, pp. 216-235, peer reviewed publication of Indiana University Press, Bloomington (2014) (link).

    "African Diaspora Archaeology" and "African Diaspora Archaeology Network," invited articles in the Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, edited by Claire Smith, Paul Lane, et al., Springer Press (2014).

    "Kongo and the Archaeology of Early African America," invited chapter in Kongo Across the Waters, edited by Susan Cooksey, Robin Poynor, and Hein Vanhee, pp. 229-237, peer reviewed publication of University of Florida Press, Gainesville (2013) (pdf).

    "Paradoxes in Designs for a National Historic Landmark's Presentation" (with Kathryn O. Fay) peer reviewed article in a thematic issue entitled "Community Relevance and Engagement in Participatory Museums," edited by Elizabeth A. Bollwerk, Natalye B. Tate, and Robert P. Connolly, in Museums and Social Issues 7(2): 323-40 (2012) (pdf).

    "Introductory Statement" from the Editor, Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage 1(1): 5-8 (2012).

    "Examining Structural Racism in the Jim Crow Era of Illinois," an invited chapter in The Materiality of Freedom: Archaeologies of Post-Emancipation Life, edited by Jodi Barnes, pp. 173-189, peer reviewed publication of University of South Carolina Press (2011).

    "Literate Inversions and Cultural Metaphors in Edgefield Stoneware," an invited article in a peer-review forum entitled "Crosses to Bear: Cross Marks as African Symbols in Southern Pottery," edited by Charles R. Ewen, Historical Archaeology 45(2): 156-162 (2011) (pdf).

    "Carved, Inscribed, and Resurgent: Cultural and Natural Terrains as Analytic Challenges," introductory chapter in Perspectives from Historical Archaeology: Revealing Landscapes, textbook compiled and edited by Christopher Fennell, Society for Historical Archaeology, Tucson, AZ (2011) (introduction and chapter abstracts).

    "Early African America: Archaeological Studies of Significance and Diversity," an invited synthesis and review article for peer reviewed Journal of Archaeological Research 19(1): 1-49 (2011) (.pdf).

    "Archaeological Investigations and LiDAR Aerial Survey in Edgefield, South Carolina," African Diaspora Archaeology Newsletter (Dec. 2010) (.pdf).

    "Damaging Detours: Routes, Racism and New Philadelphia," in New Philadelphia: Racism, Community, and the Illinois Frontier, a specially edited thematic issue of Historical Archaeology 44(1): 138-154 (2010) (.pdf).

    New Philadelphia: Racism, Community, and the Illinois Frontier, editor (with Terrance J. Martin and Paul A. Shackel) of a thematic issue of peer reviewed articles in Historical Archaeology 44(1): 1-157 (2010).

    "Combating Attempts of Elision: African American Accomplishments at New Philadelphia, Illinois," invited chapter in Intangible Heritage Embodied, edited by D. Fairchild Ruggles and Helaine Silverman, peer reviewed publication by Springer Press, pp. 147-168 (2009) (.pdf).

    "New Philadelphia: Free African-American Historical Site, Southern Illinois," in Archaeology in America: An Encyclopedia (with Paul Shackel, Michael Hargrave, and Terrance Martin), edited by Francis McManamon, Linda S. Cordell, Kent G. Lightfoot, and George R. Milner, Greenwood Press (2008).

    "African Diaspora Archaeology in Multiscalar and Multivariate Perspectives," introductory chapter in Perspectives from Historical Archaeology: African Diaspora Archaeology, an invited textbook compiled and edited by Christopher Fennell, peer reviewed publication by the Society for Historical Archaeology, Tucson, AZ (2008) (.pdf).

    "Excavating Strata of Memory and Forgetting," an invited article in SAA Archaeological Record 8(1): 17-21. Society for American Archaeology (Jan. 2008) (.pdf).

    Crossroads and Cosmologies: Diasporas and Ethnogenesis in the New World, with a foreword by Robert Farris Thompson, peer reviewed publication by University of Florida Press (2007) (abstract, contents, reviews).

    "BaKongo Identity and Symbolic Expression in the Americas," an invited chapter in The Archaeology of Atlantic Africa and the African Diaspora, edited by Toyin Falola and Akin Ogundiran, pp. 210-50, peer reviewed publication by Indiana University Press (2007).

    "Free Frank's Community, New Philadelphia," with Terrance J. Martin and Paul A. Shackel, Outdoor Illinois 13(10): 26-28 (2005).

    "New Philadelphia: The XYZs of the First Excavations," with Terrance J. Martin and Paul A. Shackel, Living Museum 66(4): 8-13 (2004/2005).

    Consuming Mosaics: Mass-Produced Goods and Contours of Choice in the Upper Potomac Region, PhD Diss., University of Virginia. Ann Arbor: UMI (2003).

    "Group Identity, Individual Creativity and Symbolic Generation in a BaKongo Diaspora," International Journal of Historical Archaeology 7(1): 1-31, peer reviewed publication by Kluwer Academic & Plenum Publishers (2003) (.pdf). Republished in Portuguese as "Identidade de grupo, criatividade individual e geração simbólica na diáspora Bakongo," Vestígios: Latin American Journal of Historical Archaeology 7(2): 177-216 (2013) (translated by Luís Cláudio Pereira Symanski).

    "Molded Malevolence: Instrumental Symbolism Rendered in Clay," invited article in Ceramics in America 3: 270-273, peer reviewed publication by University Press of New England and the Chipstone Foundation (2003) (link).

    "Fear and Greed in Tax Policy: A Qualitative Research Agenda," with Lee A. Fennell, Washington University Journal of Law and Policy 13: 75-138 (2003) (.pdf).

    "Proximate Inventions," AnthroGlobe Journal, AnthroTech Publications (Jan. 2002).

    "Assessing Criticisms of Faunal Analyses and Environmental Reconstructions in the Tehuacán Valley Project," Human Ecology: An Interdisciplinary Journal 29(3): 349-359, peer reviewed publication by Kluwer Academic & Plenum Publishers (2001) (.pdf).

    "Conjuring Boundaries: Inferring Past Identities from Religious Artifacts," International Journal of Historical Archaeology 4(4): 281-313, peer reviewed publication by Kluwer Academic & Plenum Publishers (2000) (.pdf).

FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS AND AWARDS

    As described in more detail below, from 2004 to the present I have been grateful to receive the support of: $231,681 in competitive, peer reviewed research grants awarded by the University of Illinois Research Board, University Scholars program, and grant programs of the Andrew Mellon Foundation and Community Informatics Initiative; and $536,656 in competitive, peer reviewed research grants awarded by external agencies including the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training.

    Daniel G. Roberts Award for Excellence in Public Historical Archaeology recipient, 2020, for "commitment to public scholarship" and "anti-racism scholarship and education in historical archaeology," awarded by the Society for Historical Archaeology (pdf).

    University of Illinois, Research Board Grant, Humanities Release Time, 2016-2017, for a project entitled “Archaeology of Edgefield, South Carolina Pottery Communities.”

    University Scholar, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2014-2017, honor and funding enhancement in recognition of excellence in research, scholarship, and teaching (link).

    Campus Award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research, nominee, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2015, nominated for this award by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

    Gender and Minority Affairs Diversity Field School Competition Award, Society for Historical Archaeology, Second Place Award (with Jamie Arjona and Tatiana Niculescu) for advancing diversity in the sciences through the 2013 Archaeology of Edgefield, South Carolina Pottery Communities Field School.

    Award for Distinguished Service 2012-2013, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

    Cultural Creativity, History & Heritage in Edgefield, South Carolina, Speaker Series, 2013, as Project Director, supported by a grant from the Humanities Council of South Carolina and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

    Archaeological and Historical Examination of a Nationalist Mythology of an Authentic Irish Past, 2013, as Principal Investigator, awarded by the University of Illinois Research Board.

    Memory and Heart: Pasts and Presents of African American Communities, Speaker Series, 2011, as Project Director, supported by a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Illinois General Assembly.

    New Philadelphia Archaeology and the Digital Archaeological Record, 2011, as Principal Investigator, awarded by the Digital Antiquity initiative.

    Gustave O. Arlt Award recipient, 2010, for outstanding contribution to scholarship in the humanities, awarded by the Council for Graduate Schools (pdf).

    LiDAR and Archaeological Analysis of the Pottersville, SC Production and Village Site, 2010-2011, as Principal Investigator, for Edgefield, SC Archaeology Project, awarded by the University of Illinois Research Board.

    LiDAR and Archaeological Analysis of the New Philadelphia National Historic Landmark, 2010-2011, as Principal Investigator, for New Philadelphia Archaeology Project.

    Community Informatics Initiative, 2010-2011, as Principal Investigator, in a project concerning civic engagement among researchers and local and descendant communities of Brooklyn, Illinois.

    John L. Cotter Award recipient, 2009, for outstanding scholarly achievement in African diaspora studies, awarded by the Society for Historical Archaeology (pdf).

    Community Engagement with Lincoln's Legacies, Speaker Series, 2009, as Project Director, supported by a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Illinois General Assembly.

    National Science Foundation, Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program Grant, 2008-2012, as Principal Investigator and co-Principal Archaeologist with Anna Agbe-Davies (DePaul U.) and Terrance Martin (Illinois State Museum), conducting archaeological investigations and NSF funded field schools at nineteenth century town site of New Philadelphia, Illinois.

    Community Informatics Initiative, 2008-2010, as Principal Investigator, in a project concerning civic engagement among researchers and local and descendant communities of New Philadelphia, Illinois.

    African-American Heritage in the Midwest, Speaker Series, 2008, as Project Director, supported by a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Illinois General Assembly.

    National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, 2007-2010, as Principal Investigator and co-Principal Archaeologist, with Tommy Hailey (Northwestern State University) and Bryan Haley (U. Mississippi), conducting low-altitude high resolution thermal survey at nineteenth century town site of New Philadelphia, Illinois.

    Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Faculty Fellowship, 2006-2007, to conduct interdisciplinary work in the humanities, focusing on nineteenth century history in the midwest region.

    National Science Foundation, Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program Grant, 2004-2006, as co-Principal Archaeologist with Paul Shackel (U. Maryland) and Terrance Martin (Illinois State Museum), conducting archaeological investigations and NSF funded field schools at nineteenth century town site of New Philadelphia, Illinois.

    University of Illinois, Research Board Grants, 2004-2010, supporting archaeological and historical research projects concerning African diaspora subjects and social histories of nineteenth century communities of New Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Equal Rights in Illinois, and the Edgefield pottery district of South Carolina.

    University of Illinois, included in List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent for fifteen courses, Fall 2004, Fall 2007, Spring 2009, and Fall semesters in 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2017-2021.

    Voted Outstanding Anthropology Faculty member by the Undergraduate Anthropology Students Association, 2004-2005.

    West Virginia Humanities Council Grants, 2000-2001, 2002-2003, from state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, supporting continuing archival research as part of an historical archaeology study of St. Peter's Church and School House sites, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

    DuPont Fellowship, 2001-2002, University of Virginia, Department of Anthropology, supporting write-up of doctoral dissertation.

    Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Research Fellowship, 2000, supporting study of aspects of Virginia economic history in the 18th and 19th centuries, utilizing resources of the Virginia Historical Society.

    Governor's Fellowship, 1997-2000, University of Virginia, Department of Anthropology, supporting doctoral studies.

    American Jurisprudence Awards, 1988, 1989, for Antitrust and Employment Discrimination courses, Georgetown University Law Center.

CONFERENCE PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS

    Sample presentations in past decade --

    "Dragons in America (Updated): Industry and Innovation in Edgefield, South Carolina," paper presented May 18, 2024, at the Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial Archaeology, Minneapolis.

    "Teaching Global Diasporas," panelist in forum discussion convened by the UIUC Global Diasporas Program, April 20, 2023, Urbana, Illinois.

    "Archaeological Exploration of Material Production," invited interview and talk, Preservation Technology Podcast, National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, National Park Service, Washington, DC, December 6, 2022 (link).

    "New Philadelphia, Illinois: From Archaeology Project to National Historic Landmark," invited lecture presented to the South Suburban Archaeological Society, February 17, 2022, Homewood, Illinois, and to the Chicago Archaeological Society, September 25, 2022, Evanston, Illinois (link).

    "Anti-racism Strategies and African Diaspora Experiences in the American Midwest," invited lecture presented in the Durham University Archaeology Research Seminars, October 13, 2021, Durham, UK.

    "Archaeology, Civic Engagement, and Interdisciplinary Data at New Philadelphia, Illinois," invited lecture presented to the Archaeological Institute of America Chicago Society, November 18, 2020.

    "Resilience and Racism in a 19th Century American Heartland: New Philadelphia and the Vagaries of Prejudice," invited paper presented at a symposium entitled Revealing Communities: The Archaeology of Free African Americans in the Nineteenth Century, Bard Graduate Center, New York City, February 7, 2020 (link).

    "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Investigating African Diaspora Histories," invited paper presented at the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Culture, Tel Aviv University, Israel, December 30, 2019.

    "Dragons in America: Industry and Innovation in Edgefield, South Carolina," paper presented June 8, 2019 at the Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial Archaeology, Chicago.

    "Developments in African Diaspora Archaeology: Innovation, Industry, and African-American Heritage in Edgefield, South Carolina," invited lecture presented November 12, 2018, Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis.

    "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Investigating African Diaspora Histories," invited paper presented March 15, 2018, Department of Anthropology, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile; October 5, 2018, Department of Anthropology, Temple University, Philadelphia.

    Symposium discussant in "Seeing Ethnicity? Parsing Hybridity, Creolization and Ethnogenesis in the Archaeological Record," January 6, 2018, at the 51st Annual Conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans.

    "Pulpits and Bones: African-American Vistas of Action, Innovation, and Traditions," paper presented in a symposium entitled "Religious Communities, Religious Landscapes," January 5, 2018, at the 51st Annual Conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, and at the 61st Annual Meeting of the Illinois Archaeological Survey, September 16, 2017, Carbondale, IL.

    Forum discussant in "Confronting Structural Racism," January 5, 2018, at the 51st Annual Conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans.

    "Challenging Racism and Gender Bias," invited presentation to the Black Law Students Association, University of Chicago School of Law, presented October 5, 2017, Chicago.

    "Next Parish America: Tradition and Modernity on Great Blasket Island," in the Global Irish Diaspora Congress, presented August 16, 2017, University College Dublin, Ireland.

    “New Philadelphia National Historic Landmark: Tradition, Creativity, and Archaeology,” in the Marvin J and Thomas Leo Likes Memorial Lecture Series, hosted by the New Philadelphia Association, June 20, 2017, Kinderhook, Illinois.

    "Teaching about Racism," forum panelist, University of Chicago School of Law, January 30, 2017, Chicago.

    "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Investigating African Diaspora History," invited paper presented for Instituto de Arte Americano e Investigaciones Esteticas, Patrimonio e Instituto Historico de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, and Urbania: Revista Latinoamericana de Arqueología e Historia de las Ciudades, March 11, 2016, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

    Forum panelist for "Catching Up With Caches: The Latest on African Diasporic Spirit Practices in the Archaeological Record," at the 49th Conference of the Society of Historical Archaeology, presented January 7, 2016, Washington, DC.

    "Commemorating African America and Confronting White Privilege: 100 Years of National Challenges," invited paper presented Jan. 6, 2016, in the Plenary Session of the 49th Conference of the Society of Historical Archaeology, Washington, DC.

    "New Philadelphia, Illinois: From Research Project to National Historic Landmark," paper presented Nov. 5, 2015, at the Midwest Archaeological Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

    "Tradition and Modernity on Great Blasket Island, Ireland," invited paper presented Oct. 7, 2015, to the Archaeology Division of the Vienna Museum, Austria.

    "Atlantic Traverses, Contrastive Illuminations," paper presented in a symposium entitled "Making Waves: A Celebration of the Scholarship of Marley R. Brown III," at the 48th Conference of the Society of Historical Archaeology, January 9, 2015, Seattle, Washington.

    Forum panelist for "Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Minorities in Anthropology Programs," at the 48th Conference of the Society of Historical Archaeology, January 8, 2015, Seattle, Washington.

    Forum panelist for "Ethics in Historical Archaeology," at the 48th Conference of the Society of Historical Archaeology, January 8, 2015, Seattle, Washington.

    "Nationalism, Romance, and Realities on Great Blasket Island, Ireland," invited paper presented to the Department of Anthropology, College of William and Mary, October 23, 2014, Williamsburg, Virginia.

    "Paradoxes in Designs for a National Historic Landmark's Presentation," invited paper (with Kathryn Fay) presented at the Tenth Annual Midwest Historical Archaeology Conference, September 27, 2014, Niles, Michigan.

    "Interdisciplinary Investigations in African Diaspora Archaeology," invited lecture presented at the Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, September 5, 2014, Boulder, Colorado.

    "Racism and Archaeology," paper presented in the Theoretical Archaeology Group Conference, May 24, 2014, Urbana, Illinois.

    "NAGPRA and Undisplaying the Indigenous Dead," paper presented in The Controversial Dead: A Colloquium, annual conference of the Collaborative for Cultural Heritage Management and Policy, May 1, 2014, Urbana, Illinois.

    "Tradition and Modernity on Great Blasket Island, Ireland," paper presented in a session entitled Medieval and Postmedieval Europe, April 24, 2014, at the Society for American Archaeology's 79th Annual Meeting, Austin, Texas.

    "Dragons in America: Industry and Innovation in Edgefield, South Carolina," invited keynote presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Middle Atlantic Archaeology Conference, presented March 14, 2014, Langhorne, Pennsylvania.

    "Archaeology and Kongo Legacies in the Americas," invited paper presented in a colloquium entitled Kongo Atlantic Dialogues: Kongo Culture in Central Africa and in the Americas, the 2014 Gwendolen M. Carter Conference, February 21, 2014, Center for African Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville (video).

    Invited panel discussant in a forum entitled A Question that Counts: Why Is Achieving Diversity and Confronting Racism in the SHA Important for the Future of Our Organization, Profession, and Theoretical Understanding of the Past, Present, and Future? at the Annual Conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Jan. 11, 2014, Quebec City, Canada.

    Invited discussant for a symposium entitled Theorizing the African Diaspora Archaeology, at the Annual Conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Jan. 10, 2014, Quebec City, Canada.

    Chair and Organizer of symposium entitled Good Questions Met by Archaeological Revelations, at the Annual Conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Jan. 10, 2014, Quebec City, Canada.

    "Confronting a Dragon’s Offspring in the Americas," paper presented, with George W. Calfas, in a symposium entitled Good Questions Met by Archaeological Revelations, at the Annual Conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Jan. 10, 2014, Quebec City, Canada.

    "From the Palatinate to Virginia: European Ethnicities Created in America," paper presented in the Annual Conference of the Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology and the 375th Anniversary New Sweden Conference, in a symposium entitled Continuity, Change, and an Evolving Identity: German-Speakers in Colonial and Early American Contexts, Nov. 9, 2013, Newark, Delaware; and presented at the American Anthropological Association Annual Conference, in a symposium entitled Bodies in Motion: Making a Place for Archaeological Migration, November 22, 2013, Chicago.

    "Trans-Atlantic Entanglements and Cultural Transformations," paper presented in a symposium entitled Archaeology of Africa and Diaspora Community Formation in the Society for American Archaeology Annual Conference, April 5, 2013, Honolulu, Hawaii.

    "Innovation, Industry, and African-American Heritage in Edgefield, South Carolina," invited lecture presented at the Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, February 1, 2013.

    Invited panel discussant in a forum entitled Diversity, Antiracism, and the Future of SHA, convened at the Annual Conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Leicester, UK, January 12, 2013.

    "Individual Creativity, Instrumental Symbolism, and the Constituents of Social Identity Construction," paper presented in a symposium entitled Reconsidering Archaeologies of Creativity, Annual Conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Leicester, UK, January 10, 2013.

    "Trans-Atlantic Entanglements, Diasporas, and Archaeological Insights," invited lecture presented December 24, 2012, to the Nadler Institute of Archaeology and the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near East, Tel Aviv University, Israel.

    "Communicating Archaeology at New Philadelphia," with Terrance J. Martin and Anna Agbe-Davies, paper presented at the 58th Annual Midwest Archaeological Conference, East Lansing, Michigan, October 18-20, 2012.

    "A Dragon Kiln in the Americas: 19th Century Innovations in Edgefield, South Carolina," invited lecture presented at the Department of Anthropology, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, October 12, 2012, and presented in the Archaeology Workshop program, Department of Anthropology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, March 5, 2013.

    Co-organizer of "Archaeological Insights and Civic Engagement: Learning from Midwest Historical Sites," the 2012 Midwest Historical Archaeology Conference, in Urbana, Illinois, October 5-6, 2012.

    "New Philadelphia Archaeology: The First Ten Years," with Terrance J. Martin, paper presented in "Archaeological Insights and Civic Engagement: Learning from Midwest Historical Sites," the 2012 Midwest Historical Archaeology Conference, in Urbana, Illinois, October 6, 2012.

    "Tangibility and Significance: Paradoxes in Designs for a National Historic Landmark's Presentation," paper presented at the Illinois Archaeological Survey's Annual Conference, Urbana, Illinois, September 8, 2012.

    "African Diaspora Archaeology and Interdisciplinary Challenges," invited lecture presented to the Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, South Africa, August 13, 2012.

    "Racism and Resilience in a 19th Century American Heartland: New Philadelphia and the Vagaries of Prejudice," invited paper presented in the South African Contemporary History and Humanities Seminars program, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa, August 7, 2012, and presented in the interdisciplinary roundtable program IDC Law and Culture Series: Margins and Minorities, at the Radzyner School of Law, Interdisciplinary Center University (IDC) Herzliya, Israel, December 27, 2012.

    "From Dragon Kilns in China to Early Industry in South Carolina," invited lecture presented at the Department of Anthropology, National University of Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan, June 15, 2012.

    "Multidisciplinary Approaches to African Diaspora Studies," invited lecture presented at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, June 15, 2012.

    "Using the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR) for Management, Research, and Education," discussant for forum convened at the 77th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, April 22, 2012, Memphis, Tennessee.

    "Spatial Variables and 19th Century Pottery Communities in Edgefield, South Carolina," paper presented in a symposium entitled Prehistory and History of Interaction in the Carolinas, at the 77th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, April 20, 2012, Memphis, Tennessee.

    "Fighting Despair," discussant presentation at a conference entitled The Archaeology of Slavery: Toward a Comparative, Global Framework, March 31, 2012, at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois.

    "Multiscalar Analysis of Racism's Impacts on New Philadelphia, Illinois, a 19th Century Integrated Town," invited lecture presented March 22, 2012, to the Department of Anthropology, Syracuse University, New York.

    "Diverse Methods and Landscape Analyses at the New Philadelphia National Historic Landmark," paper presented (with Jamie Arjona) in symposium entitled Knowledge Woven of Many Threads: Interdisciplinary Investigations at the National Historic Landmark Site of New Philadelphia, Illinois, convened at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology, January 6, 2012, Baltimore, Maryland.

    "Manifestations of Magic: The Archaeology and Material Culture of Magic and Folk Belief," discussant for symposium convened at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology, January 5, 2012, Baltimore, Maryland.

    "Examining Structural Racism in the Jim Crow Era of Illinois," paper presented in symposium entitled The Materiality of Freedom: Archaeologies of the Recent African American Past, convened at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology, January 5, 2012, Baltimore, Maryland.

OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE

    Texas Civil Rights Project, Austin, TX
    Volunteer, 2002.
    Provided volunteer research to develop claims in civil rights impact litigation.

    Crowell & Moring, Washington, DC
    Associate Attorney, 1991-1997.
    Conducted seminars for corporate managers and personnel on applicability of antitrust, contract, trade and environmental laws and regulations to their business activities and strategies; trial work in complex cases involving antitrust, contracts, products liability, torts, false claims, commercial real estate, and securities disputes; provided pro bono services to obtain benefits for elderly persons and individuals disabled by AIDS.

    D.C. Superior Court, Multidoor Dispute Resolution Division, Washington, DC
    Court-appointed Mediator, 1995-1997.
    Provided mediation services on pro bono basis for D.C. Superior Court's civil docket cases. Conducted confidential conferences with parties in litigation to evaluate nature of disputes and formulate basis for settlement before trial.

    Dechert, Price & Rhoads, Philadelphia, PA
    Associate Attorney, 1990-1991.
    Experience in trial and appellate litigation of complex antitrust, intellectual property, and contract disputes.

    Honorable Jane R. Roth, Wilmington, DE
    Judicial Clerk, 1989-1990.
    Researched and wrote bench memoranda and opinions for Hon. Jane R. Roth of U.S. District Court for District of Delaware, now on United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS

    African Diaspora Archaeology Network
    American Anthropological Association
    Coalition for American Heritage
    Coalition for Archaeological Synthesis
    Illinois Archaeological Survey
    Register of Professional Archaeologists
    Society for American Archaeology
    Society for Historical Archaeology
    Society for Industrial Archaeology
    Society of Africanist Archaeologists
    World Heritage USA (ICOMOS USA)
    Past member (retired) of the bars of state and federal courts in the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and the U.S. Supreme Court.

dividing bar

Faculty Archaeology Anthropology University

Last updated: Dec. 25, 2024